


Josh's Dilemma

by joshuasduns (orphan_account)



Category: Twenty One Pilots, Tyler Joseph - Fandom, josh dun - Fandom
Genre: @ malena pls enjoiy thsi, M/M, first joshler fic kms, this is gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-07-27 14:53:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 17,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7623007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/joshuasduns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh is straight.  He knows he's straight. He's happy being straight. He loves his girlfriend, Debby. He loves doing things with her, talking with her, playing pranks on her; just having fun with her in general. Josh's best friend, Tyler, is also straight. He's married, with a beautiful wife named Jenna. Josh is happy for Tyler and Jenna. Really, he is. And so he begins to hate himself when he starts looking at Tyler a little differently than he used to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Josh smiled as he walked onstage, glancing over at Tyler, his best friend. Tyler smiled back at Josh, and they both put on a burst of speed, running to where they were supposed to be before the curtain dropped. Josh climbed up behind his drums, picking up the drumsticks. He spun them around in his nimble fingers, waiting for his cue. He watched Tyler grab his mic from the tech guy, and Josh let his eyes wander as he went over cues in his head. When the curtain dropped, Josh had already gone over more than half of his routines. He knew what to do, of course. They were on Emotional Roadshow, and Josh had been doing the same thing every single night. Even so, it didn't hurt to review. Josh was shaken out of his thoughts as the crowd went wild. Josh couldn't help the wide grin that spread across his face. Every time he did this, he smiled. He was so happy here. 

Josh started the show by beginning to drum. The first song they were playing was HeavyDirtySoul with the intro to Fairly Local. The crowd went wild and Josh smiled a little as he concentrated on drumming. By the end of the song, Josh was already sweating buckets and panting hard. He glanced over to Tyler, who was standing on the stage with his ski mask on. Josh kind of wished he could see his face. He was used to this, sure, but...Josh didn't even know why he was uncomfortable with the mask. He wasn't even uncomfortable with it, really. It was their thing, and Josh was wearing one too. Josh shook the thoughts out of his mind, consoling himself with the thought that they'd both throw off the masks soon. It didn't matter. Josh distracted himself with his drums, as they were now playing Migraine. 

When The Judge came on, Tyler disappeared from the stage, and then a second later he appeared in the crowd. Josh knew the person on the stage wasn't Tyler - it was a body double, because Tyler had to have time to run into the crowd. Josh smiled under the mask. Tyler was standing with his arms out, looking down. The light shone on his red jacket, making it look even brighter than it already was. Tyler held the microphone to his mouth and continued to sing. A second late, Josh realized that he needed to start drumming, and so as he began again, he patronized himself in his mind. He was distracted, though, when Tyler reached up and took off his mask, throwing it to the crowd, who reached for it hungrily. Josh knew that was his cue to take off his own mask, so he reached up and essentially ripped it off of his face, tossing it to the side in his haste to get back to drumming. He thought he caught Tyler staring at him as he did so.

He couldn't be sure, though, because the spotlight on Tyler suddenly turned off, and Tyler climbed off of the small pedestal he was on to get back to the stage. Josh spared him a quick grin as he passed, and Tyler laughed at Josh, giving him a thumbs-up as he ran by Josh and his drums. Josh couldn't really tell, because he was so sweaty and hot from drumming, but he thought his face might have gotten a little warmer. Josh brushed it off and hit the cymbals, making a satisfying crashing-echoing noise. Josh smiled. Concerts were always fun. Especially when Tyler smiled at him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh is with Debby and its fun!! idk im not Goode at summaries but pls enjoy

It was Saturday, and Josh couldn't be happier.

Josh was always happy on Saturdays, though. They were so...sunny, or something. Maybe Josh just liked the weekend, but, then again, who didn't? 

Today, Josh was going to hang out with his girlfriend, Debby Ryan. He and Tyler had been touring lately, which meant that Josh hadn't gotten to hang out with Debby. The venue that Tyler and Josh were supposed to be playing at today canceled, so they got a free day off. Josh was pretty stoked about this. He always liked to hang out with Debby - she was a cool girl and she liked lots of the same things he was into, so that was good. Sometimes, late at night, they would watch marathons of The X-Files together. The X-Files was Josh's favorite show, and he always swore to Debby that he would die for Agent Mulder. She always laughed at this, and then kissed him. 

Josh grinned and hauled himself out of bed. He got dressed in an orange pattered shirt that was originally Tyler's (hey, maybe it still was, you never know) and some blue skinny jeans. He ran a brush quickly through his hair and contemplated shaving. He decided against it and, as a last touch, put some sunglasses on. He grabbed his phone, already texting Debby, and was out the door. 

When he picked up Debby, she was wearing a pretty sundress with floral sunglasses. Josh smiled at this. They truly were meant for each other. Debby smiled prettily and walked towards Josh, kissing him when she reached him. Josh laughed into the kiss, cupping her face with his hand and putting one around her waist. Debby broke away from him, still laughing a little bit.

"Hi, Joshie," she said, using the nickname she knew he hated. Josh rolled his eyes mockingly and pretended to shove her.

"You know I hate it when you call me that," Josh said, and Debby grinned evilly, waggling her eyebrows and nodding. Josh groaned, miming gagging himself. Debby laughed good-naturedly and patted his head. 

"I'm sorry, baby. Let's go to Starbucks to make it up," Debby suggested, and Josh nodded, smiling and opening the car door for her. 

"That sounds good. Buy me a mocha?" Josh asked, and Debby grinned, nodding. They drove to the Starbucks and were waiting in line when a child, about seven, came up and tugged lightly, timidly, on Josh's shirt. Josh looked down, taking off his sunglasses and smiling at the child. 

"Hey, there, buddy," Josh said, hanging his sunglasses on his shirt. The child smiled at him shyly. 

"Hi. Um, I'm Peter, and, um, I like your band," the child, Peter, said. Josh's grin got bigger. He loved kids. They were so cute. 

"Hey, thanks, Peter! Hey, you know, I've actually got a friend named Peter. Well, Pete. But I'll tell him about you. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear," Josh told him, and Peter's grin was huge. Peter nodded. 

"That sounds really cool," Peter said, and Josh chuckled. 

"Yeah, definitely. Well, look, I gotta get my drink and hang out with my girlfriend Debby, but you're, like, the coolest kid ever, so keep it up, Peter. You're rad," Josh said, grabbing his drink. The small boy looked up with a small, mischievous grin on his face.

"Sick as frick?" Peter asked, and a big grin broke out on Josh's face. Josh nodded. 

"Yes. Sick as frick," Josh confirmed, waving at the kid and then walking out with Debby. Debby smiled at Josh as they walked out.

"That was really cute. Like, the cutest thing ever," Debby said, and Josh chuckled self-consciously. 

"Haha, thanks. I mean. The kid was cool, you know," Josh said, glancing down at his shoes and taking a sip of his drink. Debby nodded, a knowing smile on her face, and took a sip off her own drink. 

Josh and Debby continued to have a cool day together, and when Josh went to sleep that night, his dreams were full of happy thoughts about the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yea this was josh w debby to basically Amp Up the heterosexuality in this because josh seems to think hes straight for some reason idk. ill keep doing this for a few chapters and then ill start 2 focus on josh nd tyler to rly pump up the Gayness. this chapter is violently hetero just warning u.   
> so thats how the storys gonna go and thank u 4 reading this piece of shit!!!!!1!!!!  
> also @ malena josh is u in this chapter w xfiles lmaooooo


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler and Josh go on a double-date with Jenna and Debby. They go to the movies and its fun i guess?? also thank u guys for reading and liking my story and stuff wtf ??? im legit just writing this on a whim im not planning stuff out....all the chapters r improv so thank u for actually reading this piece of total crap lma oo   
> ill try 2 make this one sexual tension-y bc im evil

It was Sunday, and Josh had plans. He hopped out of bed, quickly dialing up Tyler on his phone and confirming the plans for today: a double-date with Jenna and Debby. And Tyler. Of course. Josh mentally slapped himself and continued trying to get dressed while talking on the phone. He stubbed his toe on the corner of his bedframe and hissed in pain. Tyler, who was busy talking on the other end, stopped. Josh could practically _feel_ the concern in his voice.

"Josh? Are you okay? What happened, dude?" Tyler asked, and Josh rolled his eyes. Tyler was his brother, and he loved him, but sometimes he was _way_ too protective. It got kind of annoying sometimes. 

"Yeah, dude, I'm fine. Don't worry about it, I just stubbed my toe," Josh replied quickly, eager to get back to the conversation. Tyler and Josh agreed that they'd meet each other with Jenna and Debby at the movies. It took a while to decide what movie, but, in the end, they decided to see Maleficent. That looked good, and, besides, it had Angelina Jolie in it. Like, come on. 

Josh hung up the phone with Tyler and continued to get dressed, pulling on a hot pink polo shirt and some black skinny jeans. Josh ran a brush through his turquoise hair and grinned as he put on his signature sunglasses and backwards snapback. He grabbed his phone and was out the door, quickly texting Debby to let her know he was on his way to pick her up at her house. She texted back almost immediately, saying she was ready. Josh chuckled at this. She sure hadn't forgotten their plans for today. 

When Josh pulled up at Debby's house, he texted her to let her know he was outside. A second later, she burst out of the front door, grinning widely. Josh loved many things about Debby, and this was one of them - she was always excited for everything. She was always upbeat, always positive. Josh sometimes needed her optimism in his life, especially whenever he was feeling down. She always helped him through his troubles. Josh got out of the car, hugging her and kissing her lightly. She smiled softly.

"Hi, Josh. So," she said, raising an eyebrow and quirking a grin. "What movie are we going to see?" 

Josh smiled. "Maleficent. Hope that's okay," he replied, and she squealed.

"Ooh, oh my God! I've been wanting to see that, it looks so good. Tyler's coming with Jenna, too, right?" Debby asked, and Josh nodded. Debby laughed excitedly and pulled him to the car. Josh smiled a lovestruck smile. Debby truly was his everything. A tiny voice in the back of his head was itching at his brain, trying to tell him something, but Josh just pushed it away. He was too happy right now to care about anything his brain was trying to tell him. And, besides, Josh had just noticed Debby was wearing skinny jeans the exact color of his hair, so they could match. Which Josh found incredibly cute, and he couldn't help himself from leaning over and kissing Debby sweetly on the cheek. She giggled and kissed him back, and off they went.

When they arrived at the movie theater, they looked around for a while before spotting Tyler and Jenna. Josh grinned ecstatically and waved at Tyler (and Jenna). Debby chuckled at his enthusiasm. She grabbed his hand a little tighter, which struck Josh as strange. What was wrong with her? Was he not allowed to wave at his best friend? But he squeezed her hand back, and then let go of it to hug Jenna, and then Tyler. Josh loved that Tyler was a bit taller than him - he didn't even know why, but he found it comforting. He fisted his hand in the back of Tyler's shirt, soaking up Tyler's warmth, as Josh was kind of cold. They'd had the A/C on in the car. 

Josh let go of Tyler, smiling at him brightly. Tyler grinned back, with a mischievous glint in his eye. Josh didn't know what he was up to until he held out his hand, and Josh knew exactly what he was doing. The handshake.

Tyler and Josh had stayed up for eight hours one night a couple years ago, trying to think of an intricate secret handshake that would solidify their friendship, really bond them as brothers. So they'd made up this incredibly complicated handshake that took 30 seconds to complete, and that's what they were doing right now. Josh grinned when it was over, leaning in quickly and giving Tyler the "bro-hug" that they'd made as part of their handshake. Out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw the two women roll their eyes and give each other a knowing look. Josh didn't know what all _that_ was about, but, then again, women were always giving each other those looks, so it could mean nothing. Whatever. 

"Shall we go in?" Jenna asked, a smirk on her face. Josh ducked his head, nodding, slightly embarrassed. He'd just realized that "the look" was about them taking too long. Whoops. 

They walked into the movie together, Debby and Jenna walking and talking together, and Tyler and Josh walking in comfortable silence. Josh jokingly laid his head on Tyler's shoulder and left it there for about three seconds before taking it off and laughing a little. Tyler chuckled as well, rolling his brown eyes. Josh told himself he'd imagined the slight hitch in Tyler's breathing pattern when he'd laid his head on his shoulder. It was something so minor that Josh couldn't really tell, and he blamed it on how tired he was. He hadn't slept a lot last night, as he'd watched The Exorcist before he'd gone to bed. Bad idea. 

When they got inside, they got their concessions and then spent a while searching for the correct theater. When they found it, they got four seats together, and it turned out that there was a man who was quite sick next to the spot where Jenna was going to sit. Josh reluctantly volunteered to sit in the spot, which happened to be right next to Tyler. What a coincidence. The man next to Josh coughed violently, and he cringed. Ew. 

It turned out that the sick man moved seats halfway through the previews, which Josh was glad for. But now he had nothing to distract him from Tyler right next to him. He could actually watch the movie, of course, and he was, but there was a nagging feeling at the back of his brain again. He didn't know what it was. He pushed it away, because the movie had just come on. Finally, Josh thought. Those previews had lasted forever. Josh settled into his chair and just tried to concentrate on the movie.

About halfway through, Tyler tapped on his shoulder. Josh looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. Tyler looked at Josh pointedly, his eyes flicking to Josh's hand, which was holding his drink.

"What?" Josh whispered, and Tyler blinked.

"Can I have a sip of your drink? My mouth is like the Sahara right now from the popcorn and I forgot to buy water," Tyler explained, and Josh nodded, handing his Diet Coke to Tyler, who took a few big gulps of it. Josh rolled his eyes, but he didn't really mind. It was just a soda. He'd buy another. 

Tyler handed Josh's drink back to him. 

"Thanks, brother," he whispered, and Josh couldn't help the soft smile that broke across his face. He took a deep breath and relaxed, blinking slowly. 

It was a good movie. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so thanks 4 reading?? basically this will b the same as the chapter summary bc i suck and idk how to do things right but ??? tysm for reading and liking and commenting and stuff bc that Validates me a lot and just?? ily and i love josh and tyler and im dead inside wtf yall r great


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so basically its monday and it sux and theyre back on tour bc they got the weekend off or w/ever and so theyre back 2 their jobs lmao and so theyve done a concert but their manager fucks up!!! and gets them a shared hotel room instead! of! two! it has 2 beds tho bc just one would b 2 cliche. so anyways idk what im doing but enjoy pls

It was Monday, and Tyler and Josh had just finished a concert. Josh was exhausted, and he really only had enough energy to walk up to their manager and ask where the hotel they'd be staying at was. The manager's expression was...not quite what Josh was expecting. It looked rather...nervous. Josh raised an eyebrow.

"Uh. Well. You see, Josh, um...I screwed up. I accidentally got you a single hotel room. I know I told you I'd get separates, and that you guys would have separate rooms, but -," Josh cut off the manager by holding up his hands. "

Woah, woah. Dude. It's totally okay. It doesn't matter. It's okay if we share a room, I'm totally fine with that and I'm sure Tyler is too. I just have to tell him, but I'm sure he'll say yes. It doesn't matter. Chill, man. Sit down, have some water. You look really stressed," Josh told their manager, Jeremy, who nodded. He took a sip of the water Josh had just handed him, nodding his thanks, and then he spoke again.

"Are you sure, though, Josh? I can fix it, if you want, I don't mind," Jeremy said, and Josh smiled kindly and shook his head.

"I'm sure, man. I'm sure. Don't worry about it. Here, I'll text Tyler right now and it will be fine, see?" Josh said, getting out his phone and quickly rattling off a text to Tyler, who responded within seconds, "alright, Cool man." Josh smiled, showing Jeremy the text. Jeremy smiled tiredly, and nodded again.

"It's totally, completely, undeniably fine. Do not worry about it. At all. You know what, you're off the hook. Go home. Get a good night's sleep, have some tea, watch some rom-com. Don't worry about a thing, we'll be fine. Go have a nice night with the wife," Josh told Jeremy, who nodded, absentmindedly spinning the gold wedding band around his ring finger.

"Alright. Thanks, Josh. You're the real MVP," Jeremy said with a small smile, and then left the room. Josh grinned, shaking his head. Jeremy was a good guy, but he often overworked himself. Josh always told him he needed to take more time for himself, relax a little, but Jeremy wouldn't hear of it. Josh was glad he'd listened this time. Josh told himself it probably wouldn't happen again. Josh sighed and closed his eyes, his exhaustion crashing into him like a brick wall. Josh heard the door open, and he had to work to open his eyes, only to see that it was just Tyler. Josh gave him a half-hearted smile and shut his eyes again. He heard Tyler chuckle and felt the couch dip as Tyler sat next to him, leaning on him as he always did. Josh couldn't really tell if he became a little sweatier.

"So we're sharing a room tonight, huh? That's good. I always feel separation anxiety when we don't, anyways," Tyler said, and Josh rolled his eyes, though Tyler couldn't see because they were closed. He quirked his mouth up at the ends to show that he'd heard, though. "Please tell me there's two beds, though," Tyler added, and Josh couldn't help but feel a little hurt at this. He knew where Tyler was coming from, of course, and he knew that Tyler didn't mean anything bad, and that he was just joking, but Josh couldn't stop himself from thinking, _If there was only one bed, would he be opposed to sleeping in it with me? Does he feel repulsed at the idea of just sleeping next to me?_ And then Josh realized what the fuck he was thinking, and slammed the thoughts out of his brain with vigor. Sometimes, his brain betrayed him and he hated it.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure there's two beds. If there's one, though, you're sleeping on the couch," Josh grinned lightly, and Tyler laughed a bit. Josh sighed deeply. He could probably fall asleep right now, on the couch, with Tyler's warmth seeping into him...no. No, he couldn't. What he could do was open his eyes, get up, walk out the door (with Tyler on his heels, probably), and drive them both to said hotel. But even with these determined thoughts in his head, Josh couldn't quite bring himself to get up. He hated that about himself. He could play a full concert with no breaks and feel fine, but he couldn't get his lazy ass up off the couch. 

Finally, Josh groaned loudly and heaved himself up, walking over to the door and holding it open for Tyler. Tyler smiled tiredly and stood up, walking through the door. As he passed, he patted the top of Josh's head. Josh scoffed, but smiled, rolling his eyes again, and followed Tyler out. It was time to go to the hotel.

~~~~

Thankfully, the hotel room did, indeed, have two beds. Josh flopped down on the one closest to the door, throwing his stuff down on the floor. Tyler put his stuff on the floor and walked to the bathroom. Josh looked up from his bag to frown at Tyler.

"Dude, what are you doing? I thought we were going to sleep," Josh said, confused. Tyler chuckled.

"Yeah, but if I even touch my bed I'm totally going to sleep instantaneously. I'm gonna take a shower first. I feel dirty and sweaty," Tyler explained, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. Josh shrugged, getting out his phone. He scrolled through Twitter the whole time Tyler was in the shower. When he heard the shower turn off, he began to turn off his phone. He was exhausted, and thirsty, so he got up to go to the kitchenette for water. As he did, Tyler came out of the bathroom, tendrils of steam swirling around his head. All he had was a towel wrapped around his waist, and Josh took a moment to marvel at how fucking _skinny_ the dude was. Seriously. Essentially no muscle on that guy. His tattoos stood out against his tan skin, and water droplets still glistened on his arms. Josh quickly flicked his eyes away and concentrated on pouring his glass of water. He drank it all in one go, and poured himself some more. While he was doing this, Tyler was busy changing. Josh didn't look. 

Josh sighed as he drank the last of his water, rubbing his tired eyes. Thankfully, Tyler was changed, so Josh went to the bathroom, got himself in bed, and turned the light off, closing his eyes blissfully as he did so.

He'd shower tomorrow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so ya i hope u guys enjoyed htis and im joshler trash and i Love htem sm and im sure this has probably happened before lmaooo


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> idk man.....basically they play another show and this time its in their hometown and they feel nostalgic?? and also jenna and debby come to this show for osme reason idk man but anyways here it is!! also josh is tired af bc he had to get up rly early after a weekend of sleepin in nd hes still not used to it yet lmao

Josh awoke to someone shaking his shoulder roughly. He groaned, rubbing his eyes, and looked up to see Tyler hovering above him. Josh froze for a second, his sleepy brain trying to figure out what Tyler was doing, and then it came to him. Right. They had to leave for Ohio today. They were playing a show in their hometown: Columbus, Ohio. Josh nodded and pushed Tyler off of him, his hand lingering for a second or two on Tyler's bare arm. Josh was constantly taken aback at how _warm_ Tyler always was, even if it was freezing out. Josh just kind of accepted it as a Tyler thing. 

"Yeah, yeah, okay. I'm - I'm gettin' up," Josh said drowsily, blinking his eyes slowly. He was still exhausted, but not quite as much as he was. He pushed himself up, scratching at his bare chest sleepily. He thought he caught Tyler's eyes on him, but, then again, he was very tired and probably wasn't seeing correctly. Josh inhaled deeply, groaned, and swung his feet off of the bed. He trudged to the kitchen to make some coffee, but Tyler stopped him.

"Dude. What are you doing? We don't have time for coffee. We can get coffee on the way to the airport, or, like, in the airport," Tyler said, and Josh groaned louder, although he was nodding. Ugh. He was most definitely _not_ a morning person, and it didn't matter how many times he'd done this. He still didn't like it, and he'd probably never get used to it. Josh did a roundabout and walked back to his bed. He dug through his bag as fast as he could (which wasn't very fast, but whatever), pulling out a red shirt, some skinny jeans, socks, boots, and sunglasses. He threw the shirt on, fumbled with the jeans, and eventually figured out how to put on his socks. He pulled his shoes on and put on his sunglasses to hide his tired eyes. He ran a brush quickly through his blue hair and brushed his teeth as quickly as humanly possible. 

While he was doing this, Tyler was getting dressed, too. Josh chuckled a little when he saw that Tyler had put his shoes on the wrong feet and hadn't even noticed in his rush to get dressed. They were both in an early-morning haze, and coffee was the only remedy. 

Josh walked over to Tyler, getting on his knees in front of him and trying to help him with his shoes. He thought he heard Tyler suck in a breath quietly when he did so, but he couldn't be sure. Josh pulled the shoes off of Tyler's feet, undid the insane knots in them (seriously, how the hell had Tyler managed to tangle up the laces so badly?), and stuck them back on Tyler's feet, the correct way. When Tyler had realized what Josh was doing, he'd laughed. 

"Whoops, guess I'm pretty tired, too. Sorry about that. Tour is grueling, brother," Tyler said, semi-dramatically, putting a hand delicately on Josh's shoulder. Josh rolled his eyes, laughing, shaking his head slightly. He used Tyler's bed as leverage to push himself up, and ended up flopping backwards on the bed.

"Dude. I'm fucking exhausted. I don't even know why I'm this tired. I guess last night really just took it out of me, huh?" Josh said, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Tyler nod in agreement. 

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired too. Last night was crazy. And I forgot to tell you, Jenna and Debby are gonna be at tonight's concert. I don't know why, they just said they were coming. For, like, support, or something, I guess," Tyler said, and Josh's eyes shot open. Seriously? They were coming? They never came to concerts. This was a really cool surprise. 

"Really? Awesome! Also, maybe it's because the concert's in Columbus? Like, where we grew up and stuff? I don't know, but that's probably what it is," Josh said, and Tyler nodded. 

"Yeah. Most likely," Tyler said, and then his phone buzzed. Tyler fished it out of his pocket and checked the screen. He groaned. Josh raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Tyler rubbed his forehead, as if he had a headache.

"We're late. Jeremy is coming to pick us up in three minutes. We haven't even had breakfast yet," Tyler said, and Josh shrugged. Sure, they usually woke up earlier and had time to eat before they left, but it wasn't a super big deal. It was okay. 

"That's okay. I don't mind. We can get breakfast at the Starbucks at the airport or something. When does our flight leave?" Josh asked, and Tyler looked it up on his phone. 

"Um...let's see. The flight from Milwaukee to Columbus...it leaves in three hours. If we hurry, we'll have time, but we need to haul ass to the airport," Tyler said, jumping up and grabbing his bag. Josh grabbed his own, as well, and they left their hotel room to go check out at the front desk. They speedwalked out to the front of the hotel, where Jeremy was just pulling up in his black Sedan. 

"Hey, guys, hop in," Jeremy called out the front window, and the boys nodded, throwing their stuff in the trunk before climbing into the backseat. 

"Have a good night? Got some sleep?" Jeremy asked, and the guys nodded. 

"Yeah. What about you?" Josh asked, and Jeremy nodded, his face going slightly pink. Tyler and Josh caught this and grinned at each other. 

"Ooh. Yes, you did," Tyler said, a smirk on his face, and Jeremy rolled his eyes and muttered for Tyler to shut up. Tyler laughed mischievously. Josh rolled his eyes at Tyler. Usually, Tyler was shy and quiet and innocent-acting, but other times...well, see for yourself. He wasn't. Josh kind of liked this side of Tyler better, because it was rarer. Or something.

Josh was so half-asleep that he didn't even notice that they'd arrived at the airport until Tyler was shaking him gently to make him aware of this fact. Josh looked over at Tyler, smiling sleepily, and nodded at him. He heaved himself out of the car, walked to the trunk, and grabbed his stuff. He and Tyler bid Jeremy goodbye and made their way into the airport. They immediately spotted a Starbucks, so they both got coffee and some breakfast there. They sat around talking until they had to board their flight. On the plane, Tyler immediately got out his phone and started texting. A second later, Josh's phone buzzed. He took it out of his pocket and looked at it. There was a text from Tyler. 

_T: Im bored. tell me a story._  

Josh rolled his eyes. Tyler was so annoying sometimes. Especially if this was the shit that was gonna be happening the whole flight. 

_J: once there was a boy named Tyler. he was pretty cool. The end._  

Tyler scoffed in the seat next to Josh, who grinned mischievously. 

_T: ur story sucks, man._  

_J: nah im the best storyteller this side of the county. Youre just jealous. and, besides, My story is completely factual. see if you can do better._  

_T: okay Brah._

_J: dont say that._

_T: okay brahhdy._

_J: whats brahhdy? Dont use that either._  

Tyler grinned next to Josh. He started tapping away on his phone. A minute later, Josh's phone buzzed. 

_T: once upon a time, there was a guy named Josh Dun. he was super cool and everyone loved him, especially a guy named Tyler Joseph. One day, tyler met Josh and was like, "Hey, you wanna be in a band with me??" and Josh was like "sure brahhdy." And so they were in a band together and Josh was cool with the predetermined name, Twenty One Pilots. and they lived happily ever after. The End._  

Josh read the story that Tyler had written, smiling. He looked up at Tyler, who had a very endearing expression of hope on his face. Josh chuckled softly.

"That's pretty factual, and your story is longer than mine. So I guess you win. Although, there was one thing," Josh said, and Tyler looked almost nervous when Josh said that. Josh smiled, and leaned in slightly.

"I don't say brahhdy." 

Tyler's face broke into a grin, and he laughed as his cheeks turned a little pink. Josh smiled and leaned back into his own seat, looking down at his phone. He scrolled through Twitter for a while, and then started to nod off. He eventually fell asleep. Little did he know, Tyler was quietly watching him, a soft blush on his cheeks. Slowly, Tyler took out his phone and snapped a picture of Josh. He posted it on Instagram with the caption "Sleepy baby." He grinned. It would be funny when Josh woke up to see it on Instagram. Tyler locked his phone and then shut his own eyes. He was awfully tired, too. 

~~~ 

Tyler and Josh were awoken when the plane touched down in Columbus. They got their luggage and hauled it off the plane to a taxi, which took them to Tyler's parents' house, which was where they'd be staying. Tyler's parents welcomed them warmly, and soon, Josh's parents were over, as well. They visited for about an hour before Tyler and Josh had to leave to go get ready. They bid their parents goodbye and were off to soundcheck. In the taxi, Josh spoke.

"It's always nice seeing our folks again," Josh said, and Tyler smiled, nodding. 

"Yeah. I still can't get over, even after all these years, how much your mom looks like you. Same smile and everything. I'm not kidding. Identical," Tyler said, and Josh laughed, nodding.

"Yeah, I get it from her. She's great." Josh said, and Tyler nodded, smiling fondly. They sat in comfortable silence for the rest of the way to the venue.

When they were halfway through soundcheck, one of the doors opened and two people rushed in. Josh looked up and saw Jenna and Debby rushing forwards, smiles on their faces. Josh grinned at them, waving. 

"Hey, guys," he said, and Tyler looked up from fumbling with cords and plug-ins. He grinned at the two ladies. Tyler stood up and walked over to them, hugging Debby and kissing Jenna sweetly. Josh found himself feeling a dark cloud in his chest, but he didn't know why. He smiled at Debby, walking over to her and kissing her, too. He rested his forehead against hers, speaking quietly.

"I'm glad you're here. You don't usually come to shows," Josh said, and Debby chuckled. 

"Yeah, but Jenna and I thought we'd come to support you in your hometown," Debby said, and Josh grinned, pulling back and pecking her lips again, quickly but gently.

"Alright, cool. Well, you guys get backstage - for free," Josh said, and Debby giggled.

"Cool! That's an upgrade. We secretly bought front-row tickets, but I guess we'll give them to some fans now," Debby said, and Josh rolled his eyes affectionately, breaking away from her and walking back over to his drumset. He sat behind it and started drumming, warming up. Tyler got his ukulele and started playing House of Gold. Josh started drumming, and their significant others watched with interest. Josh didn't think they'd ever been to one of their concerts before. Well, that was cool, in a way. New experiences, right? 

When they finished the song, Jenna and Debby started to clap. Josh smiled. It would be a good concert. 

(ok i usually dont do this but im having trouble finishing this so TIMESKIP TO AFTER CONCERT)

Josh was panting hard, but he was grinning from ear to ear. They'd just finished a fantastic concert, and he could still hear Jenna and Debby screaming from the wings of the stage. Josh got up from his drums and walked to the front of the stage with Tyler. They did their signature bow, and walked off the stage to the ladies. 

It had been a successful night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall......this suckked because, as ive said 7682420584309 times, i have no idea where to go with this story. im legit just bullshitting my way through everythign. im afraid ill run out of ideas soon and i gotta spend like a lot of chapters building up ty and joshs relationship so it will seem realistic when they finally do kiss!!!! dont worry they totally will in this story obvs, but it will be a little while until they do bc i dont want it to be like seven chapters in and the sexual tension will just be starting and they kiss. totally kills The Mood. so anyways yea and this gives u a Small glimpse of whats 2 come but yea enjoy this!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> basically in this chapter theres another concert but more sexual tension amirite ;-) so yea pls enjoy

Tyler and Josh were playing a concert. Josh was sweating a lot, and he consoled himself with the fact that it was almost time to take off his hot red jacket. When the time came, Josh threw it off of him, and also took off his white blouse and tie, so he was shirtless. He felt much more comfortable this way. He noticed Tyler glancing at him, and before he knew it, Tyler was right in front of him, standing on one of his drums like he sometimes did. Tyler grinned down at him from where he was, and Josh grinned back, taking a deep breath and then launching into the next bout of frantic drumming. Tyler sang for a moment on Josh's drums before leaping down and walking to the other side of the stage. Josh played for a minute more and then it was time for the intermission where the openers came back onstage and they did the Titanic. This was Josh's favorite part. The drummer for one of the openers came to take Josh's place and Josh walked to the edge of the stage, holding his arms out and puffing his chest out like Rose in Titanic.

But, for some reason, instead of one of the guys from the openers coming behind him to hold him, it was Tyler. 

Tyler had taken a break from singing to come hold Josh around his waist. The break wasn't very noticeable, though. Josh was grinning ear-to-ear, even though he was taken by surprise. Usually it wasn't Tyler who did this. Josh was surprised to find that he didn't mind, though. Tyler pressed himself closer to Josh. It was barely detectable, but Josh caught it. The fans were going insane. A second later, Tyler was gone, and Josh let his arms fall. He ran around the stage a bit, laughing and waving at the crowd. He stuck his tongue out and laughed. He stopped for a moment to rest, still grinning at the crowd. Josh was panting hard, and he spent a couple of minutes catching his breath.

Once it was caught, Josh went back to his drums. The opening drummer smiled and nodded at him, leaving the drumset, so that Josh could go back and drum. Josh started drumming with all he had, and it was really fun. Josh loved to drum. It got all of his anger and aggression out. Tyler always said that he thought that was why Josh was such a sweet guy. Josh always smiled at that. He was glad people thought he was sweet. Not that he wasn't, just. He wasn't conceited, was all. Oh, whatever. You know what I mean. 

When the concert was over, Josh and Tyler did their signature bow to the audience. When they did, Josh felt Tyler's hand fisting itself in Josh's shirt. Josh gave Tyler's back a small, reassuring squeeze in return. He didn't know what Tyler was doing, but he didn't really mind all that much. Tyler's grip lessened slightly and he patted Josh's back slightly. Josh smiled as they straightened up again and waved goodbye to the crowd. Josh and Tyler walked back to their dressing room. While they were changing, Josh decided to bring up what had happened during the concert. It was against his better judgement, but whatever. 

"So, um, Tyler. What was up with the Titanic thing? Not that. You know. I didn't - I was fine with it, I'm just wondering." Josh stammered, feeling his face heat up. God, he was so awkward. Fuck his life. Tyler raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. 

"I don't know. Felt that it would liven up the show a little bit. I talked it over with the openers before we went on. It was like a prank," Tyler said, smiling, slightly mischievous. Josh grinned shyly and looked down. He accepted Tyler's answer, of course. But he still felt like something was slightly off.

Like maybe Tyler wasn't telling the complete truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey thanks for reading this story and actually liking it wtf ?? sry i havent been writing lately its bc i injured my fingers and so i couldnt type smh but now im all Goode and i can do this so yea lmao


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> idk theyre on another plane and its slightly awkward but mostly fluffy i guess lmao

Tyler and Josh boarded another plane, slightly wearily. They were tired from going on tour so much, and they still had lots of venues to play. Oh, well. It was fun. That's all that really mattered, to be honest, and Tyler always sounded good, so it was okay. At least, that's what Josh was telling himself as he sat down in his seat on the plane. He made room for Tyler to squeeze by him to the window seat. Luckily, Tyler was pretty thin, so he fit. Tyler sat down, and the first thing he did was look out the window and marvel at how far up they were, even though they hadn't even taken off yet. Josh smiled slightly at this, rolling his eyes a little. Tyler most certainly was endearing. 

"Wow. Dude. Planes, they're really tall." Tyler said, and Josh nodded. "If the Shaq were to take a running jump and grab, do you think he could hang onto the plane's wing?" Tyler asked, and Josh took a moment to process what Tyler had said. Then he shrugged.

"I don't know. Probably. I mean, the guy is seven feet tall. I'd estimate that the wing of the plane is nine or ten feet off the ground, though, so probably not, actually," Josh answered, and Tyler nodded, settling himself farther into his seat. He pulled out his phone and turned it onto "Airplane mode." Josh realized he should probably do the same, so that's what he did. He put his phone down and then looked around the plane a little bit. They were going to Orlando this time, so they were in for a long flight. It was dumb, but Josh always looked at the passengers on a plane to see if 1.) He saw anyone he knew, or 2.) He saw any celebrities. It was just kind of an automatic thing that he did. He wondered if anyone else did that. He shoved that out of his head and decided he was going to read. 

He turned his head back, only to be slightly surprised. Tyler had been staring at him, and now Tyler blushed slightly and looked down, fumbling in his bag for something. Josh felt his face heat up slightly, even though he really didn't know why. He decided to get his book out of his back, so he rummaged through his duffel before finding his book. He was reading the Twilight series, which Debby had let him borrow. (More like had forced him to take.) It wasn't his first choice, of course, but Debby had insisted. He heard a snicker next to him, and he turned to look at Tyler, who was smirking and looking at Josh's book. Josh scowled and stuck his tongue out at Tyler. 

"Shut up. It was Debby's idea, not mine. She forced this upon me," Josh grumbled, and Tyler nodded sarcastically.

"Mhm. Sure, Joshie," Tyler said, looking back at his notebook and writing some more. Josh scoffed, rolling his eyes. He hated the nickname, but he kind of hated it slightly less when Tyler said it. He wondered why he didn't feel that way when Debby said it. Oh, well. Josh didn't know and he didn't really care to know. All he cared about was his internal struggle: He knew he hated Twilight, but it was a compelling, catchy series and Josh couldn't stop reading. He hated himself. Besides, he had nothing better to do for six hours, so he buried his nose in the book and read.   
~~  
Josh jolted awake when an announcement crackled over the intercom. It said that they were two hours away from Orlando. Josh took a deep breath, stretching as much as he could in the small space. He glanced to his left, where Tyler was watching him with an amused look. Josh raised an eyebrow. 

"What?" he asked, and Tyler grinned.

"You fell asleep," he said simply. Which didn't clear anything up at all. 

"Okay? What's so funny about me falling asleep on a plane? I've done it before, like, a million times," Josh said, confused. Tyler just shrugged, smiling.

"You woke up slightly. And you said stuff to me. Like, you were still asleep, but your eyes were open," Tyler said, and Josh frowned slightly. What had he said?

"What did I say?" Josh asked, and Tyler grinned a little, slightly mischievously. He was blushing, though. Josh became even more worried. 

"You, um. You woke up and turned to me with this really, ah, focused look, and, you, um. You told me, that, um, conch shells looked like, um." Tyler took a deep breath, and then blurted, "Vaginas. You said that conch shells looked like - that," Tyler said, his face becoming redder. Josh's eyes widened, and he blushed furiously. 

"UM. Uh. Wow. I'm just gonna. Go. Splash some water on my face and die inside," Josh said, getting up. Tyler dissolved into a fit of giggles, burying his face in his hands. Josh groaned.

He hated himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK U FOR READING THIS WTF.........yall r great nd pure


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so basically in this one theyre in a hotel room and have jet lag and theyre drinking and tyler lets loose that hes not actually completely straight. this leads to josh confessing his sexuality as well, and then it becomes slightly awkward lmao. i hope im not rushing into their relationship too fast!! pls enjoy this chapter.

Josh and Tyler were just getting settled in their hotel room. Josh had gotten his pajamas on and they were resting a little. The only problem was that they had jet lag, so they couldn't get to sleep. They knew it was late, but they just could not get to sleep for the life of them. Finally, Josh sat up, rubbing a hand over his face and sighing. 

"Tyler?" he whispered quietly, and a second later he got a reply.

"Yeah, buddy?" Tyler asked, and Josh couldn't help the tired smile that formed on his face.

"I can't sleep. I bet you can't either, so, um...do you wanna go get some beer and bring it back here and watch something or...whatever?" Josh asked, and there was a beat of silence before Tyler agreed. 

"Yeah, sure, that sounds good. I'm not a big drinker, and I don't think you are, either, but that sounds really good right about now," Tyler said, a smile evident in his voice. Josh chuckled, nodding in the darkness. Josh leaned over and fumbled for a second before getting the light to turn on. 

"Nice. Okay, let me go get some and then I'll come right back, okay?" Josh said, and Tyler nodded. Josh grinned and grabbed the keys before walking out of the hotel room and outside to his car. He drove to the corner store, quickly bought a six-pack of beer, and rushed back to the hotel room, where Tyler was waiting for him. They each cracked one open, took a drink, and sighed. Tyler smiled.

"Even if I can't sleep, this is nice," Tyler said softly, and Josh smiled a bit, nodding shyly. 

"Definitely. I like just spending time with you. You're my best friend, and I don't get nearly enough time to just hang out with you," Josh said, and Tyler nodded, taking a long draft of his drink. Josh turned to Tyler.

"Say, you wanna watch a movie?"

Tyler grinned, nodding, and crawled forwards to look through the movies the hotel had available. He grinned evilly, pulling out "Twilight."

"Since, you know, you loved the book so much, why don't we watch it?" Tyler asked, a shit-eating grin on his face. Josh scowled darkly at him, but rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Fine. But only 'cause if I don't pick that one, you'll find something even worse for us to watch," Josh said, crossing his arms, and Tyler thought for a moment, then nodded. 

"Yeah, that's true. But it's only 'cause I love you and want to torture you," Tyler said, grinning as he put the movie in. Josh froze. What did that mean? Of course, that was obviously probably platonic. Clearly. They were best friends, after all. But...Tyler had been acting kind of weird lately. There was the thing onstage, and then Tyler had been acting sort of weird when Josh had confronted him about it, and then there was the plane ride, where Tyler had been staring at him...Josh didn't know. The betraying part of his brain was starting to formulate a theory that Josh wasn't sure he liked or not. 

Tyler came back from putting the movie in and sat back next to Josh, sipping off of his beer. Josh took a long swig off of his as well. He felt he needed it.   
~~~  
They were halfway through the third movie (Cinderella), and halfway through their third beers of the night. They were more than a little tipsy, especially since they didn't drink very often. Naturally, they started a conversation, and that conversation turned to dating, and then to past relationships, and then, of course, to sexuality. Tyler swirled around the liquid in his bottle for a moment. 

"Josh, have you ever had a boyfriend?" Tyler asked, and Josh froze for a second, then responded.

"No. Dunno how that would be," he said, and Tyler nodded. 

"Yeah. Are you gay, Josh?" Tyler asked bluntly, and Josh nearly choked on his beer. He blamed this on the fact that they were both drunk. Josh took a moment to breathe, and then responded.

"Um. No. I mean, I have a girlfriend, so I'm not gay. I like to think of myself as bisexual, I guess," Josh responded, quickly taking a drink so he didn't have to look at Tyler's face.

"Oh. Cool. I think I am, too," Tyler said, and Josh nodded. For some reason Josh felt a slight glimmer of hope at Tyler's words. He didn't know why, though. He blamed it on his intoxicated state. He glanced over at Tyler, and was strangely aware of details he hadn't noticed before, like the shape of Tyler's nose, how long his lashes were, how his hair looked so fluffy. Josh shook himself out of it. The movie was almost over, only, like, a minute left. Even as he thought this, the movie ended, and Josh drained his beer, crawled forwards, and took the disc out of the DVD player. He put the DVD away, and went to the bathroom to clean himself up. He came back out, and Tyler was in his bed, staring up at the ceiling sleepily. Josh crawled into his bed, turning off the light.

"Good night, Tyler."

"Good night, Josh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyy hope u guys liked it!! wont be writing tomorrow (8/6/16) because im going to a panic! at the disco concert with my friend (the friend im writing this fic for!!), which should b fun. im so excited lol. anyways tho im just letting u kno!! tyvm 4 reading, liking, and commenting!! much appreciated u guys ily!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> their show is cancelled because of bad weather or something idk so they get to sleep in!! I Dont Know what to write in this chapter but please enjoy it i hope

Josh woke up with a groan as Tyler's phone rang loudly. He knew it was Tyler's because he'd insisted on changing the ringtone to Hips Don't Lie by Shakira. He'd never understood why, of all songs, Tyler had chosen that one, but he supposed he wasn't one to talk, since his ringtone was the X-Files theme. 

He heard Tyler moaning with sleep, too, and the plastic of Tyler's phone case scrape against the wooden sidetable as Tyler picked up. 

"Mmhhyeah?" Tyler asked sleepily. Josh heard a garbled voice on the other end, talking urgently. He couldn't hear what it was saying, though, so he stopped trying to distinguish the words. He heard Tyler mumble sleepily to the guy on the other end (for Josh could, indeed, tell that it was a guy), and Josh couldn't help but think that Sleepy Tyler was quite endearing. Sleepy Josh paused a moment to ponder what he'd just thought, and why, before concluding that it was too early for this shit and he tried to go back to sleep. Josh sighed, snuggling himself deeper into his warm, fluffy pillow. He heard Tyler say goodbye and hang up the phone. Tyler's creaky morning voice spoke to him. 

"So, Joshie. Looks like we got a day off. The venue cancelled because of really bad weather, and I guess we can't drive or anything. Kinda crazy," Tyler said, and Josh frowned. Bad weather? They hadn't had - oh. But they had. Last night, it was pretty windy, and all throughout the night, Josh had heard heavy raindrops and wind plunking against the window. So. He supposed they were in a bad weather spell. Josh heaved himself up out of bed to go to the window and see how bad the weather really was. When he looked outside, the ground had ice on it and he could practically feel the cold, biting wind blowing by the window.

"Wow. Yeah. I guess so. So, um...we have a free day, then?" Josh asked, looking over at Tyler's bed, and Tyler nodded, a sleepy, soft smile forming on his face. Josh felt his stomach clench, for reasons unknown to him. He shrugged it off. 

Josh grinned and leapt onto Tyler's bed, lying smack on top of him. He didn't move, and after a few seconds, Tyler was shoving at him to get him off. Josh laughed, rolling as slowly as possible off of Tyler's body. Tyler pouted at him, and Josh just smiled cheekily back up at him. After a few moments, Josh felt his eyes sliding closed. He really was woken up early, and was extremely tired. So he thought he'd nap for a little bit. Just a little bit.  
~~~  
When Josh next woke up, it was naturally. The first thing he became aware of was the weak light hitting his eyes, coming from the window. He barely had time to register that when a small snore broke the silence. Josh lazily let his eyes wander up, and what he saw was Tyler, his eyes closed, his mouth open, snoring, in a deep sleep. Josh didn't try to stop the small, fond smile that formed on his face. He just snuggled up closer to Tyler's warmth. Hey, it was still raining outside (Josh could hear it) and the atmosphere outside was making it cold inside. So. Josh was a little cold, and Tyler was warm, and Tyler was asleep, and would never know that Josh had purposely pressed himself against Tyler's side. So. Josh found nothing wrong with this. 

He got another half hour of sleep before he felt Tyler shifting slightly next to him. He realized that, in his sleep, he'd wrapped his arms around Tyler's body. He blamed it on the fact that he was cold and that he'd tried to get warmer in his sleep. Yeah, that was it. He didn't move his arms, though. It would look too suspicious if he did. Probably. Maybe. He didn't really know. What he did know was that Tyler was now awake, and twisting his head over his shoulder to look at Josh. Josh decided to feign just waking up. He blinked his eyes slowly, and took a deep breath, and pretended to realize what position he was in. His eyes widened and he quickly took his arms from Tyler. He thought he was pretty good at acting, if he did say so himself. 

"Dude?" Tyler mumbled sleepily. Josh gave Tyler a small, bleary-eyed smile.

"Yeah, bro?" Josh asked, and he saw Tyler's eyes flick down to where Josh's arms had just been. 

"Why were you holding me?" Tyler asked, his voice small and creaky with sleep. Josh thought it was endearing. 

"Um. I dunno, man. I guess I must've, like, done that in my sleep or something. Sorry, man, I didn't mean for it to happen," Josh said. At least he wasn't lying. Technically, that was exactly what had happened. Tyler nodded, shrugging as he rubbed his sleep-ridden eyes. He also took a deep breath, and Josh stretched, feeling and hearing his shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles pop. Wow. One of his wrists even made a stretchy-cracking noise. Tyler looked at him strangely. 

"What?" Josh asked, letting his arms fall to his sides again. Tyler shrugged, rubbing his eyes.

"I dunno, I just. You make lots of cracking sounds when you stretch," Tyler said groggily, a sleepy smile on his face. Josh grinned, feeling his face heat up slightly. He didn't even know why, he just. His body was malfunctioning. That was all. 

"Yep. Feels good, too. It's like...I'm looser now. Loose like a...goose," Josh said, and he usually would have said something more intelligent, but he was still pretty groggy and his brain wasn't fully working yet. Say, what time was it? 

Tyler chuckled, nodding. "Right. Um, do you know what time it is?" Tyler asked, and Josh thought for a second that maybe Tyler had read his mind. And then he reasoned that that was ridiculous, and that he was probably classified as clinically insane in the mornings. Josh heaved himself up, stretching again as he stood up. He rubbed his eyes thoroughly, then his face, and then ran his hands through his hair, pulling it slightly, giving himself a makeshift scalp massage. He bent over gingerly (hey, it hurt to bend over when you've just woken up. Your muscles aren't awake yet) and read the clock. 

"Wow. It's 1:00 PM. Guess we slept in for a while. Well, that's a few hours of my life I'll never get back," Josh concluded, standing up and grinning sheepishly at Tyler, who smiled back, a slightly incredulous look on his face. If Josh didn't know better, he'd say that Tyler had a light blush on his cheeks. He couldn't say for sure, though, and he was still pretty sleepy. Josh walked to the kitchenette of their hotel room, scratching lightly at his bare chest as he went. He absently rubbed at his tattooed arm, tracing patterns on the ink. He began making coffee, as he couldn't properly function without it. Tyler quickly caught on, shouting sleepily to Josh from his bed.

"Hey, make me a cup, will you? Joshie? Please?" Tyler asked, and Josh rolled his eyes. Tyler could be an annoying little shit at times, but Josh still loved him. (And, he said in his mind, that's the platonic kind of love. Not romantic. Probably.) Josh made a weird face at himself, but shook it off as just-woken-up antics. 

"Sure, princess," he called back to Tyler, who scoffed, and got out of bed, walking over to the kitchenette and leaning on the counter beside Josh. 

"How dare you? I am a queen, and I expect you to address me as such," Tyler said jokingly, a small, mischievous smile making its way onto his face. Josh grinned at him. 

"You're a dork," Josh said, pouring the coffee. Tyler rolled his brown eyes, crossing his arms over his plain white shirt. 

"Yeah, but you love me," Tyler said, going to grab a mug from the cupboard, and Josh froze. Then, a second later, he realized what Tyler meant. He meant platonically. 

"Heh. Yeah," Josh said, pouring coffee into the cup Tyler had just set next to Josh. Tyler took it, putting milk, cream, and sugar into it, and then took a long sip of it. Josh raised an eyebrow. Tyler had just put six sugar cubes into his coffee. Tyler noticed Josh staring at him, and put down his cup.

"What?" Tyler asked, a hesitant smile crawling onto his face. Josh just huffed, rolling his eyes affectionately.

"You just put six sugars in your coffee." Josh pointed out, and Tyler shrugged.

"So what? I can't get by without at least 900 grams of sugar," Tyler said, and Josh huffed out a laugh.

"You're a dork." Josh said again. Tyler looked down at his coffee, smiling secretively. 

"Yeah, but you love me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAHHHHH i havent updated in 459385049 years im so sorry!!! been sidetracked and ive had writers block for, like, ever. so iM sorry and i hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!! Tysm for reading u guys ily


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so basically in this chapter ive timeskipped a little bit ??? theyre at the end of their tour at madison square garden and some fluffy things happen at the very end. no kisses (yet!!)! i mean. actually. yes kind of but not on the mouth and its quick and onstage. anyway, just imagine from where we left off to this chapter, its been like 2 months and lots of awkward fluffy things have happened. thank u!

It was the last concert of the tour. Both Tyler and Josh were a little shell-shocked about it, but they had to forget their shock when they ran out onto the stage, to thousands of screams. Tyler couldn't believe it. He was playing at Madison Square Garden. He'd dreamed of playing here ever since he was 17, and it was finally happening, 10 years later. Tyler couldn't help the wide grin that formed on his face. He turned back towards Josh, full-on smiling now, so hard his cheeks hurt. Josh grinned happily back at him, widening his eyes in emphasis, as if to say "I know!!!" Tyler was shaken back to reality when the intro of "Fairly Local" started playing through the speakers. Since the intro couldn't really be made with instruments, and they'd recorded it digitally, they had to use speakers. However, Josh started playing, and Tyler started singing, and then it became just background noise. 

Tyler got caught up in the song, and it was muscle memory by the time it faded into HeavyDirtySoul. Tyler smiled as he sang, closing his eyes. No one could see him doing it, of course, because he was wearing a ski mask, but at least he knew. Besides, if he was wearing a ski mask, no one could tell that he was absentmindedly looking over at Josh. He loved to watch Josh drum. It was mesmerizing to him, how physical Josh was when drumming. Tyler could watch it for hours. Completely platonically, of course. Tyler smiled a little bit at the break in the song as he remembered once he'd tweeted something about Josh and then used the hashtag "#yolonohomo." People had been upset about him for that, but he'd just found it kind of funny. Tyler realized he needed to be singing, so he started. He hoped no one had noticed the second-long pause. He reasoned that they probably wouldn't care anyways. 

Tyler sang his heart out, and he was exhausted by the end of the concert, what with all the hamster-ball antics and Josh backflipping. Tyler always had a lot of energy, of course, and he had today, too. But having a lot of energy didn't stop him from being exhausted after all this. Tyler walked to the front of the stage, figuring he should give a speech, as it was indeed the end of their Blurryface tour. Tyler smiled gently at the crowd, and they all immediately quieted. 

"I will never forget this tour. The first installment of the Emøtiønal Røadshow will forever be a part of who I am as an artist, a friend, a performer, a fan. You guys know how to put on a show. So if you watched from a distance, checked in online or helped hold us up in the pit: thank you. Because we are "famous" now, we have to do all kinds of interviews with random people but the thing that those people always ask us about is you guys. It's my favorite type of question because I love to brag about you. I know I may have been distant online recently but I can only take that kind of break to focus on doing shows because I know you guys always hold it down, keep the fire burning, keep tending to that flame. If you guys continue to look out for each other, support each other's art, and stay together you'll be unstoppable. And the distance is just a season. More shows to come, more songs to write. Only for you guys. We did it. Playing in Madison Square Garden, that's been my dream since I was 17. And that dream has come true, all thanks to you guys. You beautiful people, you beautiful fans. Thank you so much. Stay alive, frens," Tyler said, raising his arms, and making the Twenty One Pilots symbol with his hands. The crowd screamed its approval, raising their hands as well. Tyler saw a few people crying. He thought he was going to cry, himself. 

Suddenly, he felt a presence next to him. He looked over and saw Josh there, smiling over out at the crowd, making the symbol as well. In this moment, Josh's face was lit up with the lights from the stage, his hair sweaty and sticking to his forehead and his neck. Sweat shone on his face, which was pulled up in a huge, happy grin. His eyes were crinkled up, squinting as they did when he was happy. Tyler felt as though he'd memorized each crease at the edge of each of Josh's eyes. Josh was...well, he was beautiful, in this moment. Tyler smiled.

Josh's arms dropped, and he took two steps to the side, so he was exactly right next to Tyler. Tyler was taken aback when Josh hugged him, tightly. The crowd screamed, and Tyler smiled. He looked down at Josh, who was wearing what was possibly the purest, softest smile Tyler had ever seen on his face. Tyler smiled down at him, and hugged him back, tightly. The crowd screamed its approval, and then, before Tyler could even think, Josh's head came up and there was something on Tyler's cheek. A second later, Tyler registered it as Josh's lips. They were gone as fast as they had come, but Tyler felt a pleasant buzzing in his head. He smiled, suddenly becoming aware of the crowd screaming frantically. Tyler could still kind of feel Josh's lips on his face, metaphorically, kind of. He subconsciously raised a hand and touched where Josh had been. Tyler looked around for Josh, who was back at his drums, with a pink face and a slightly embarrassed smile. Tyler grinned back at him, and all tension disappeared from Josh's stature. He loosened up, let his arms drop, and his smile became less embarrassed. 

Tyler realized he was waiting for Trees to begin, and Tyler turned back to the audience. 

"So, um," Tyler said, letting out a giggly chuckle, and the crowd smiled and "aww"ed. Tyler ducked his head, feeling slightly embarrassed but still happy. "So, uh, this song has kind of become a tradition of ours to, um, play at the ends of our concerts, and we'd like you to be a part of this tradition, too. So, I wrote this song when I was 17 and kind of depressed, and now I'm 27 and less depressed, so here is Trees. Thank you for being a part of us. This for everyone here," Tyler said, and the intro started to play as the lights dimmed slightly. Josh started drumming, and Tyler began to sing. Tyler thought all the phone lights were beautiful, and he couldn't believe that at age 17, he'd written Trees as a hormonal, depressed, annoying teenager, and now, at age 27, he was hearing all of Madison Square Garden sing it back to him. He found that amazing, and he was touched. Startled, he felt tears start rolling down his cheeks, and he prayed that it didn't impede his voice in any way. It sort of did, in a way, and he felt himself becoming choked up, but luckily, no one made any noise about it or said anything. 

When Trees finished, Josh came out from behind his drums, standing beside Tyler yet again. They did their signature bow and then straightened up, Tyler leaning back towards the microphone. 

"Thank you for coming to the last installment of the Emotional Roadshow tour. We're very touched to have you here, and we love you. We are Twenty One Pilots, and so are you. Have a safe drive home," Tyler said, raising his arms yet again and making the symbol. Josh did the same next to him, and the crowd roared and the lights went off as Tyler and Josh walked off the stage together.

All in all, the night had lived up to the tour name. 

It truly had been an Emotional Roadshow. But Tyler was very happy and content. He couldn't help his mind from going back to when Josh kissed him.

He really couldn't. But it had been the perfect night.

Tyler was so happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahh thank u 4 reading this! literally every day im like "why dont i update every day" and then im like "yeah that sounds good!!!....actually nah idk where 2 go w this so nah son" but like its . So fun to write so ?? idk guys u tell me but thanks for reading yall r the tru MVPs


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so basically tour is over and they dont know how to function as human beings. jenna steps in and decides to ask tyler if he wants to go on a date. josh is lowkey jealous. i got nothin folks pls enjoy this
> 
> Edit: i just realized the timing is fucked up bc he was dating debby like ,, 1-2 years before he was on emotional roadshow so some shits gonna go down in the next chapter i guess ?? idk how theyre gonna break up yet but theres gonna be shit in this chapter (i hope it doesnt sound TERRIBLE bc i just now realized this fuck), so please dont hate me thank u

Josh woke up in his own house, which was strange. He looked over at his clock on his bedside table. 2:00 PM. Wow, Josh had slept really late today. Again. He was still trying to get used to sleeping in his own bed, not a tour bus, and he was sleeping more, catching up on rest from the sleepless nights of the tour. He wasn't used to not sleeping in a tour bus, so he'd have to get used to it, again. This happened every time they got back from tour. It was only the third day after getting back, anyway, so Josh gave himself some leeway there. He'd need about a week to catch up fully. 

Josh stretched, hearing his bones crack pleasantly. He groaned, like we all do when we yawn, and laid there for a second before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and walked sleepily to his kitchen. He made some coffee for himself, and turned on his stereo, blasting heavy metal music. Josh smiled. It was gonna be a good day, he could tell. 

After he finished his coffee, he took a shower, got dressed, brushed his teeth, his hair, and put on deodorant. Josh smiled at himself in the mirror. He thought he looked okay. Not super great. But passable. He walked out to his room, searching for his phone, which he'd left on his bed. It was just his luck that he stubbed his toe really, really badly and caused him to fall onto the floor clutching his toe. He released a long stream of curse words that he usually wouldn't use on a daily basis, but it hurt, okay?! 

After the pain wore off (or, at least, as much as it could in three minutes. There was still a dull ache), he wearily picked up his phone and called Tyler, because he was too out of it to text. After a few rings, Tyler picked up. 

"Hey, Jish. How you doing? You still tired?" Tyler's voice asked, and Josh felt himself smile just from hearing it. He secretly liked it when Tyler called him Jish. 

"Hey, Ty. I'm good. Still tired, yeah, but that's unavoidable, the third day after tour, y'know?" Josh asked, and there was a silence that Josh was sure was Tyler nodding. And then Tyler spoke, and Josh grinned, rolling his eyes.

"You know, I just nodded my head but then I remembered that you can't see me. So I feel awkward now," Tyler said, and Josh grinned more. 

"You dork. But, yeah, I figured. I could practically hear you nodding, to be honest," Josh said, and he heard Tyler's trademark laugh, the slightly croaky, indefinitely dorky one. It always sort of cheered Josh up, to be honest. 

"So, um, I was wondering, you wanna hang out today?" Josh asked hesitantly. He didn't know if Tyler was too tired, or what. Maybe he was. Maybe Josh shouldn't have asked. Tyler's response came a second later.

"Oh, um. Sorry, Josh, but I have a date with Jenna today," Tyler said, his voice dripping with apology. Josh cast his eyes down, nodding as he said "Okay." Yeah, he was a little disappointed, but it was nothing, right? He'd just call Debby and have a fun day with her. Right? Yeah. 

"Sorry, man. We'll hang out another time, okay? Like, tomorrow, or something. Okay?" Tyler asked, and Josh couldn't help but smile slightly at Tyler's hopeful voice, looking for clarification that Josh wasn't mad.

"Yeah, totally, bro. That sounds sick," Josh said, and he could practically feel Tyler's relieved grin. 

"Alright, cool. Well, um, speaking of Jenna, I see her car in the driveway, so I'd better go. Talk tomorrow, okay?" Tyler asked, and Josh agreed, hanging up the phone. He sighed, slightly disappointed. He'd kind of wanted to see Tyler today, but it wasn't like he was gonna just stop him from going on a date with his wife. That would be jerky of him. He looked down at his phone as he texted Debby, asking if she wanted to go on a date with him. He didn't want to copy Tyler and Jenna, but he didn't know how else to phrase it. I mean, there were probably other ways, but he was just too worn-out for his brain to work like that. 

Debby responded, "Sure," and they set up plans to meet at the local Taco Bell. 

Josh got in his car and drove there, parking it and then walking in. He saw Debby sitting at a far table, and he smiled as he walked over to her. She looked up at him, too, giving him a tight smile. Josh frowned. What was wrong with her? Was she okay? Was she mad at him? He sat down, taking her hand.

"Deb? What's wrong? You okay?" Josh asked, and Debby sighed. 

"Um...Josh, look...I really like you, and you're super cool and a great person and can drum really, really well," Debby started, and Josh felt his heart leap into his throat. Where was this going? His grip on her hand tightened. 

"What's...what's going on, Debby? Are you mad at me?" Josh asked, fear coming into his eyes. What had he done wrong? Had he hurt her in some way. God, he hoped not. His heartbeat seemed to increase. Debby shook her head, and then shrugged.

"Um. Well, Josh...I'm not...mad at you, per se...I just feel like, maybe, we should take a break? Kind of? Break up?" Debby said, her face scrunching up and her voice lilting at the end, like she was asking a question. Josh's world crashed down around him. Break up with Debby? No. But she loved him! Didn't she? He sure loved her, with all his heart. What had he done?!

"What?? Well, I mean - Debby, what did I do? Did I hurt you in some way? I can fix it, I promise! What did I do? Just tell me? Please?" Josh asked desperately. She couldn't break up with him. She was all he had. His mind flicked briefly to Tyler, but he pushed his bandmate out of his head. This was important. Right now. He couldn't think about Tyler when Debby was breaking up with him. She shook her head.

"No, no, it's just...you're always on tour, and I kind of feel...like, I know it's super cheesy and horrible and I feel awful, and it's so bad of me to say this, but I feel kind of...neglected, almost? Like, I know you can't help it and I know you're away and you don't mean to do anything like that and I'm so not mad at you for that, like, at all, but I don't know, I just. Feel like that, I guess. And then you come back from tour, and, you know, I give you a few days to rest up, because I know how tiring tour is for you, and then you call me for a date, and I'm like, "Oh, yay! We'll go somewhere nice and I'll forget about everything." But then you say that it's just Taco Bell, and I dunno, I was kind of disappointed. Like, we always go to Taco Bell, and, don't get me wrong, I love their food, but...for a date? Seems kind of...I don't know...casual, or something. Not that I don't like casual, but for a date it seems kind of low-key, or something. I'm sorry." Debby finished. Josh felt tears stinging at the edges of his eyes. 

"What? Well, but, I'm done touring now! And we won't be touring again for a while! And - and I'm so, so, sorry you felt neglected, I totally didn't mean you to feel like that, and I love you, and I'm sorry about Taco Bell, I thought it would be okay but it wasn't, and I just - we can go somewhere else if you want to?" Josh asked weakly, hoping this was all a dream. Debby smiled sadly at him, shaking her head and squeezing his hand back once before getting up and walking out the door. Josh felt numb. He was going to cry. He stayed there for a few minutes, watching as Debby's car pulled out of its space and left. Josh sighed sadly and got up, not ordering. He'd suddenly lost his appetite. He pushed out the doors to his own car and sat in it, and only then did he let the tears fall. Josh's body was wracked with quiet sobs, and his breathing was heaving. He watched the tears drop onto his lap, clenching his hands on the steering wheel. 

After about 15 minutes, Josh didn't think he had any more tears in him. He pulled away from the Taco Bell, racing back to his house. He pulled into the driveway and went inside, up the stairs, to his bedroom, where he flung himself on his bed and cried some more. Evidently, he was wrong about not having more tears.

Today was absolute shit. He'd been wrong about that too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> umm idk ?? im sorry for the last chapter i really am smh. It Had To Happen though so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> anyway um so in this one its gonna be kinda cute nd fluffy and tylers gonna help josh get thru this breakup thing. have fun reading!!

Josh was woken up by his phone buzzing loudly on the pillow next to him. He had the worst headache in the history of humankind, so he blearily picked up the phone, squinting at the caller ID. It was Tyler. Josh groaned and slid to accept the call, hoping Tyler's voice would make him feel better. Tyler's voice crackled over the speaker.

 

"Hey, Jish! How ya doing today? Wanna hang out?" Tyler asked cheerily, and Josh felt more tears coming to his eyes. Oh, God, he wasn't sure if he could take them, what with his headache. He sniffed loudly.

 

"She broke up with me, Tyler," Josh croaked out, and he could hear Tyler still on the other end.

 

"Wait, what? Debby? She broke up with you?" Tyler asked, his tone disbelieving. Josh didn't blame him. He hadn't thought that it was possible for someone as perfect as Debby to break up with him. Ah, shit, here came the tears, falling down his face, and fast.

 

"Yes," Josh groaned, his voice wavering with the tears. He heard Tyler gasp and then groan in sympathy.

 

"Ohh, dude, that sucks. Hold on, don't go anywhere, I'll be at your house in five minutes. Stay there, and don't do anything stupid," Tyler said, and then the line clicked as Tyler hung up. Josh stared blankly at his phone for several seconds. Don't do anything stupid? What did Tyler mean by that? Like, don't kill himself? Well, Josh wasn't going to do that. He wasn't that sad. Yet, anyway. Josh groaned, getting up off his bed and hobbling downstairs to the kitchen, where he took (probably way too much) Advil. He downed them with a glass of water and then went back upstairs to brush his teeth. He couldn't stand the taste of his own breath anymore.

 

Just as Josh finished brushing his teeth (his mouth was all nice and minty now), he heard knocking on the door. And then he smiled slightly, because he recognized that knocking. It was the special knock that Tyler and Josh had come up with together, and only used when they were at each other's doors. It was their own, special thing. Josh liked that. It was sort of like their handshake. Josh dragged himself downstairs, opening the door. And there stood Tyler, in all his glory, his arms full of snacks and other things: Donuts, ice cream, chips, some Advil, water, and a drink tray full of tea and coffee. In that moment, Josh loved his best friend. He wished he could hug him right then and there, but that would fuck up the drinks, so he didn't.

 

Instead, he let Tyler inside, and the second that Tyler put everything down, he was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug from Josh. Tyler chuckled, hugging Josh back tightly. Josh buried his face in Tyler's neck, breathing in his scent: Tyler always smelled like lavender, and spices, and coffee. Josh loved it. It smelled like home to him. After about a minute, Josh let Tyler go. He was surprised to see that Tyler's cheeks were dusted with pink. He smiled softly at Josh, holding out the tray of drinks to him. Suddenly, Josh was very much aware of the dark circles under his eyes, his unshaved, scruffy beard, and his paler-than-usual face. He ducked his head self-consciously as he took the drink tray, plucking a cup of tea out of it. Coffee always made him have a slight headache, so he figured that that wouldn't help his situation. After he had downed half of it, he turned to Tyler.

 

"Dude. This is why you're my best friend. Thank you so, so, so much, man, I love you," Josh said, pulling Tyler into another hug, this one a side-hug. Tyler hugged him back, and out of the corner of his eye, Josh could see him smile widely. Josh felt a strange flip-flop in his stomach. He released Tyler before it could get any flippier.

 

"No problem, Jish. I could tell you needed it over the phone," Tyler said modestly, and Josh grinned at him. Tyler smiled back. Josh's eyes wandered over to the pile of food, landing on the donuts. God, he loved donuts, and he wanted one right now. Tyler saw his gaze and turned to the donuts, opening the box and holding it out to Josh, who smiled shyly and took it from him. Their fingers brushed, and Josh felt his heart stop for a second. That was strange. Josh wondered what that was. He pushed it aside and concentrated on eating. He ignored the nagging thought in the back of his mind:

 

_Do I have a crush on my best friend?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i know lots of u want them to kiss soon, and i promise theyre gonna kiss eventually BUT it probably won't be until like chapter 20 or further. i know, i know, but building up sexual tension is my favorite thing ever and also im evil so >:) lmao but ill throw in some cute awkward moments to sate u guys so thanks for reading ily


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> josh feels sort of awkward and hes also kind of having a lil internal struggle rn bc of his realization. They watch xfiles nd stranger things and its cute

Josh couldn't believe it. After he'd sort-of realized that he'd had a crush on Tyler, he was warring with himself internally. He _couldn't_ have a crush on Tyler, he wasn't allowed, because Jenna was married to Tyler, and Josh had just been through a breakup, and Tyler was straight. Right? Yeah. Totally straight. Well. Josh actually wasn't sure about that. He kind of got a...different vibe from Tyler. Maybe he wasn't straight after all, Josh realized. But that didn't matter. He was still married and even if he wasn't straight, there was no chance that he'd like Josh, of all people. 

 

Josh was so caught up in his own thoughts that he was barely paying attention to The X-Files as he ate some of the ice cream that Tyler had brought. Currently, they were on the couch, chilling out next to each other. Josh tried not to notice the way Tyler was casually leaning against him, putting all his weight on Josh, who secretly loved the feeling of Tyler's heat, Tyler's weight, on him. A living, breathing person was pressed up against him - it was just a nice feeling, to know that he wasn't the only one, to know that he wasn't alone. Which, you know, was ridiculous, since obviously there were other humans on this planet and Josh felt stupid just thinking that thought. But, hey. Right now, as far as Josh was concerned, it was just him and Tyler against the world. Two best friends, one with secret feelings for the other. Sigh. 

 

Josh was shaken out of his thoughts as Tyler got up from the couch, walking over to the kitchen and grabbing his own spoon. He turned back towards Josh with it, smiling slightly guiltily. 

 

"Mind if I have some? I'm a little hungry," Tyler asked hesitantly, and Josh immediately felt like the worst person on the planet for not sharing. Like, Jesus, Tyler had been the one who had bought the ice cream. Josh felt horrible, and nodded fervently. 

 

"Yes, oh, gosh, Tyler, I'm so sorry I didn't share with you earlier. I'm so sorry, I just totally didn't even think of that and I'm sorry and -," Josh's rambling was cut short when Tyler put his hands up, smiling and shaking his head as he walked over to the couch again. 

 

"Dude, dude, chill out. It's not your fault, don't even worry about something like that. It's your ice cream, dude, you don't have to share. If anything, I'm being rude by asking for some of it," Tyler said, and Josh shook his head again, holding the tub of ice cream out to Tyler.

 

"No, you're not. Don't worry. Um, let's just share it. It's more fun that way," Josh said, and then realized how what he'd said had sounded. Tyler raised an eyebrow, slowly taking the tub as a smile quirked at the edges of his mouth. Josh could feel his face heating up.

 

"I mean. Um. Because. Sharing is caring! Right? Haha, right. Um. So let's just...let's just eat," Josh said, ducking his head, slightly mortified. He sucked at small talk. He heard Tyler laugh, though.

 

"Okay, Josh. Okay," Tyler said, jokingly patting Josh on the head, unable to keep a smile from his face. Josh grinned as well, feeling his embarrassment slowly melt away. He watched as Tyler dug his spoon into the ice cream, watched Tyler move it to his mouth. He was entranced by the movements, by Tyler eating the frozen treat. Josh tore his eyes away, unsure as to why he was so captivated by Tyler eating ice cream, of all things. Josh internally rolled his eyes at himself, feeling how much of a cliche he was. Josh shook these thoughts out of his head by digging his own spoon into the ice cream. He brought it to his mouth slowly, absentmindedly sucking on it. He stayed like that for several seconds, dazed, before turning to Tyler and suggesting that they watch that new show, Stranger Things, instead of The X-Files, since they'd both seen the latter about 500 times.

  
Josh was surprised to discover that Tyler had been staring at him. More like, _staring at his mouth._ Like Josh had been doing to him. Josh flushed and quickly ate his ice cream, glad that it was cold. Tyler blushed slightly, as well, but nodded, agreeing to watch Stranger Things. They exited out of The X-Files and clicked onto ST. Tyler took another bite of ice cream, and so did Josh. Josh glanced over at Tyler. He studied his profile, the slope of his nose, the length of his lashes, the fullness of his lips. Josh realized that he kind of wanted to kiss Tyler. Tyler looked pretty in the light streaming through Josh's windows. The sunbeams caught in his hair and made it glow, and Josh had to restrain himself, kind of. He looked away and stuffed more ice cream in his mouth.

 

Josh didn't know what he was in for. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so thank u v much for reading this!! i won't be updating as often come wednesday (8/31/16) because im going back to school, and so i will be pretty busy with that, homework, and being stressed :) so thanks for reading and this is just a heads up!! thank you, you guys!!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so um basically in this one joshs mom comes to visit, because tyler calls and tells her (without josh knowing) that josh isnt feeling v well after his breakup. soft things ensue. basically momma dun comforting her son.

Josh was crying. Again. He was lying on his bed, just crying. He really hated his life right now. Sure, he was very grateful to Tyler for bringing over the food and stuff, but he was still upset. It didn't _matter_ that he sort of had a crush on Tyler - he missed Debby. A lot. How could she do this to him? She could have just told him what he was doing wrong without breaking up with him. She didn't _need_ to hurt him like this. He would have changed. Really, he would have. 

 

But deep down, he knew he couldn't have changed. Sure, he could have brought her along on tour with him, but that wouldn't be much help, as she would still feel "neglected" because he'd always be busy, with not enough time for her on the bus. And besides, she'd have even more to bitch about because "Nothing to do on the bus all day!" Which, you know. Josh got. Really, he did. It was just annoying to him that Debby hadn't brought this up sooner. She knew he was on tour. She knew he couldn't help it if he couldn't make time for her. She knew that this band was one of the only things that made him happy. Apparently, she just didn't care. She didn't care about his happiness, about his wellbeing. He'd been totally, undeniably, incredibly in love with her. And she'd known that. But maybe she just hadn't been in love with him. Josh heaved another sob. She'd sure acted like she had been. A chorus of _Why had this happened?!_ rung around in Josh's head. He groaned miserably, burying his face in his pillow and letting loose a scream of frustration, anger, and despair. 

 

Josh was startled out of his thoughts when the doorbell rang. He hoped it wasn't Tyler. Sure, he loved his best friend to the moon and back, but since his discovery a day ago, he didn't think he could handle any more romantic feelings, whatsoever. He supposed he'd better go see who it was, though, so he dragged himself off of his bed and trudged downstairs depressedly. Who was disturbing him? Josh didn't know. Josh didn't care. He didn't even bother to look through the peephole to see who was at his door before he opened it. For all he knew, it could be a crazy ax-murderer. He kind of hoped it was.

 

It was his mother.

 

"M-mom? What are you doing here?" Josh stuttered, his eyes widening as he looked upon his mother, stood upon the welcome mat, her purse in her hands. She smiled gently at him, putting down her purse and opening her arms. Josh repressed another sob as he all but threw himself on his mother, hugging her tightly. Of all the things, he'd never realized that he needed his mother as much as he did right now. 

 

Josh decided he couldn't really help the sob now, so he let it go, his body heaving as he cried. His mother held him there, rocking him gently on the doorstep. He didn't care if his neighbors saw them and thought he was a weirdo for hugging his mother, crying, in his boxers, in broad daylight. He could care less what they thought. Josh cried some more and buried his face in his mother's coat. After a few minutes, he was okay enough to let her go and give her a watery smile. She smiled back, sympathy in her eyes as she raised a hand to his face and wiped away his tears. Josh nearly started crying again at this gesture, opening his door wider and waving her inside. As soon as the door was shut, she hugged him again.

"Oh, Joshie. My poor baby. I'm here because your friend Tyler called me. Said you weren't feeling too well. I can confirm that for a fact now," Mrs. Dun said, cupping Josh's face with her hands. She patted him on the cheek and then went to the kitchen, bustling around as she made tea for him. Josh merely nodded, not trusting his voice as he sat down on his couch, curling up into himself. After a few minutes, Mrs. Dun finished with the tea and brought him over a cup of steaming chamomile. Josh took it gratefully and took a sip, not even caring that he scalded himself. His mother settled herself next to him, and then patted his knee, signaling for him to put it down. When he had, she spoke. 

 

"Now, sweetie, what's going on? What's happened? Why are you crying?" Mrs. Dun asked, worry evident in her eyes. Obviously, she feared the worst. Josh hoped that she didn't think he'd killed a man or something like that. 

 

"W-well...it's stupid really, I probably shouldn't be crying this much, but...Debby...she - she broke up with me, Mom," Josh said, new tears streaming down his face. He took another sip of his tea, which his mother had sweetened to his exact liking. She knew him well, as she should. Josh was thankful for this. Mrs. Dun's face had many emotions as of this moment - surprise, anger, sadness, pity, sympathy, and then calmness, as if to mask the ocean of emotion that was raging inside her. 

 

"Oh, dear. Baby, come here," Mrs. Dun said, as Josh's bottom lip began to quiver again. She pulled him into a fierce hug, and Josh couldn't help himself from whispering, "Mommy." Mrs. Dun just hugged him tighter. Josh began to cry-speak, and she released him, looking at him questioningly. 

 

"She - she said that she didn't want to be with me anymore because she felt n-neglected when we were on tour, and, and stuff. And, um, she said that I didn't make enough time for her, and that I didn't take her out on good dates at all because we always went to Taco Bell, and I know that was horrible of me and I didn't realize, and, but, she said that she didn't want to be with me anymore because I never made time for her and I was always drumming, and, but, I couldn't help it that I was on tour, and, and she knew that, and she knows that the band means so much to me, but s-she doesn't care, probably, and she said that she wanted to break up with me, and she left the Taco Bell that we were in because I'd wanted to take her on a date there and she just - left!" Josh cried, accidentally spilling some of his tea. He looked guiltily down at it before taking another small sip. He glanced at his mother, who he could tell was quietly fuming, but she hid it well. 

 

"Well, I think that's absolutely ridiculous. She knew that you were touring, promoting your new album - and I'm very proud of you, by the way, dear - and she just _says that?!_ That's ridiculous. How dare she? She can just hang out with you when you're not on tour. It's that easy. Doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Mrs. Dun said, making an exasperated huffing noise. Josh gave a miniscule smile. He sort of liked seeing his mom get all protective. It was kind of funny. And, besides, it made Josh feel better. Josh nodded in agreement. His mom stood up.

 

"That's it. I'm calling her." Mrs. Dun walked over to the phone, picking it up and looking around for her phone number, which she somehow expected to be lying around somewhere. Josh rolled his eyes and got up, gently taking the phone from her hands and putting it down.

 

"Mom. No. I don't want you to call her, that would make things so much worse. Just - it's okay, Mom. Don't worry about it," Josh said, and his mom stood for several seconds before sighing. 

 

"Fine. It's just - she did this, to you, and I'm not okay with that," his mom said, and Josh smiled gently. 

 

"Yeah, Mom, I know. But...I think it'll work out eventually. It's okay. You can sit back down," Josh said, gently leading his mother back to the couch and easing her down onto it. She nodded stiffly. 

 

"All right. I'll trust you on this, Joshua. But just know that if she does one more thing to break your heart, I'm calling her. And don't even try to stop me," Mrs. Dun warned, but there was a slight undercurrent of joking in her tone, and then she smiled slightly. Josh chuckled a bit and nodded, sitting down with her. 

 

"You got it, Momma," Josh said, and Mrs. Dun smiled. 

 

And then Josh's cell phone rang. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAHHH so thank u sm for reading?? you guys really keep me going, and i always look forwards to checking my email in the morning, because i know there will always be nice messages and kudos from you! it's like the highlight of my morning! so thank you so much for being a part of my morning routine, i couldnt have done this without you. love you guys. xoxo 
> 
> also ooh whats gonna happen >:) whos calling >:) u must Wait And See


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BONUS CHAPTER FOR U GUYS BC IVE GOT NOTHIGN BETTER TO DO!!! so in this one debbys the caller and she and joshs mom r angry at first but then they work it out. ik irl debby and josh are still good friends and this is probably so far from the truth but i dont actually know what happened irl so im just making stuff up. all i know is that josh probably was not this dramatic and probably did not cry this much. Im sorry
> 
> also minor nsfw warning. nothing much, just josh recalling memories. u probably dont need it but idk yall might be triggered by that kind of thing so im putting a warning. thanks

Josh's phone was ringing, and he was hesitant to pick it up, or even look at it. Finally, after glancing at his mom, he looked at his phone and his heart stopped.

 

It was Debby calling.

 

Josh looked at his mom in terror, and she caught on and looked at the caller ID as well. Her eyes widened in surprise and then anger as she picked up the phone and answered it. Josh froze, unsure if that had actually happened or not. And then his mom started speaking and he had to stop her.

 

"Hello? Is this Debby Ryan? How dare you call here?" Mrs. Dun asked into the phone, and Josh hissed in urgency as he tried to grab the phone back from her. He heard Debby's voice on the other line.

 

"Um, yes, it's Debby. Who is this? I'm calling to apologize to Josh," Debby's garbled voice came over the phone's speaker. When Josh made to grab at the phone, she kept it away from him, looking at him pointedly.

 

"This is his mother. How dare you call here? You broke my son's heart. I don't think he needs you talking to him and breaking it even more," his mom said, and it was basically Josh's worst nightmare. Josh sighed and buried his face in his hands.

 

He tuned out the two women, trying to make it less painful for himself. Just hearing Debby's voice launched his brain into a volley of memories, memories that were good and splashed around his brain in great, vivid color. Like the time they'd gone out for ice cream and ate off each other's cones. And the time they went to a nice, quiet lake and had a picnic. Or the time they stayed in and watched movies all night.

 

_Or,_ his brain whispered traitorously, _The time you guys were making out and almost had sex._  

 

Josh shook his head at this, trying to wipe the scalding memory out of his brain. They'd just been having fun, lazily making out, when things had escalated and they'd ended up in their underwear. Josh had stopped it before it got out of hand. He'd said that he'd needed to go to the bathroom, and ended up spending half the night there. To this day, he didn't know why he'd discontinued their antics. He supposed it just hadn't felt right, for whatever reason. Sure, he'd had _it_ before. Kind of. Like, once, in 12th grade, some girl had given Josh a handjob in the school bathroom, but it wasn't anything big and Josh kind of didn't count it as such. Josh tried to get rid of that memory, too. He came to the conclusion that all his memories were embarrassing and therefore needed to go away. At least, they did when his mom was in the room. 

 

Just as Josh started paying attention again, it was sounding like his mom and Debby's conversation was winding down. Mrs. Dun turned to Josh and held out his phone.

 

"Debby and I have worked things out, to a point. She'd like to apologize, and then she says she won't call again unless you call her first," Mrs. Dun said, holding out Josh's phone to him. Josh gave his mother a quiet smile of thanks and took the phone from her. 

 

"Hi, Debby," he croaked out, all too painfully aware of his cried-hoarse voice. 

 

"Hey, there, Josh. Look, I just wanted to apologize. I'm super, super sorry that I just walked out on you like that. On a date, no less. I shouldn't have done that, and I feel terrible, and I was being too needy, and you weren't neglecting me, and I'm so, so sorry. I literally was not thinking straight and I was a total bitch. Please forgive me, and if you don't, I totally get it and you don't have to at all," Debby said, all in one breath. Josh smiled slightly at her rambling.

 

"No, no, Debby, it's okay, don't worry, I forgive you. I was being a huge baby and I should have made some time for you. I'm sorry too," Josh said, and he could almost feel Debby's smile.

 

"It's okay. I forgive you, too. So...are we cool now?" Debby asked hesitantly, smiling and nodding before realizing that she couldn't see him.

 

"Yeah. We're totally cool now. And, look, you can call anytime you want, honestly. We can still be really good friends and stuff. We just...don't have to be dating to do that," Josh said, and Debby agreed.

 

"Totally. Hey, look, I have to go, my brother's coming over any second now, but I'll talk to you later or tomorrow, yeah? And we can totally hang out anytime you want. My door is always open if you need me," Debby said warmly, and Josh grinned, agreeing to call her and hang out sometime.

 

"Yeah, definitely! Well, I'll let you go, but it was nice talking to you again. Sorry I was being such a ween," Josh said, and Debby laughed.

 

"Love ya, ya goof," Debby said, and hung up.

 

And this time, Josh could tell that she meant it totally platonically. And that was fine with him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANX FOR READING U GUYS i love ur comments it makes me so happy to read. also idk why i didnt say this before but go follow my tumblr!! its starpaced.tumblr.com so go follow me if u have a tumblr!! i might change the url soon though so if i do ill tell u at the end of one of my chapters. thank you!!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so in this one basically josh is Less Upset but still kinda :/ so tyler and jenna come over to cheer him up. it kind of backfires a little. jealous josh!!!
> 
>  
> 
> also tyler/jenna dont drive while ur drunk smh

Josh was fine. Really, he was. Well, he was finer than he'd been before. At least he wasn't crying every morning. He was still kinda sad, though, and he'd gone through way too many bottles of Advil already. So maybe he wasn't completely fine. But that's whatever, right? Right. Josh sighed, running his hands through his hair and tugging slightly. Should he get a new color? Maybe. This blue kind of reminded him of when he was with Debby, and he sort of didn't like that. He wondered what color he should get next. Maybe...pink? Josh didn't know. He'd decide later, because his phone had just buzzed. He picked it up, looking at the text. It was Tyler.

 

T: Hey man i was just wondering if maybe you wanted to hang today. Cheer u up bro

J: oh sure. that sounds fun. yea come over anytime

T: Okay sick. is it cool if i bring jenna too?

 

Josh hesitated at this. Did he really want to see Jenna too? He didn't really know how to say no to Tyler, though, so he agreed. Josh waited about 15 minutes before the doorbell was ringing and he was opening it to see Jenna and Tyler standing there, hand in hand. Josh tried not to feel too bitter as he waved them inside, closing the door behind him. They walked over to the couch, sitting down. Tyler smiled at Josh. 

 

"So, how have you been feeling?" Tyler asked, and Josh shrugged, looking away from Tyler's eyes.

 

"I mean, better. I made up with Debby and we're on good terms again. I just...can't help feeling a little sad, you know? I guess that's natural, though," Josh said, and Tyler nodded, looking happy.

 

"I'm so glad you guys made up. That's good that you're friends again. And, yeah, the residual sadness won't go away for a little bit, but it will eventually. You'll be okay," Tyler reassured Josh, leaning over and patting his arm. Josh felt himself flush, but nodded gratefully. 

 

"Thanks, Ty," Josh said, ducking his head, and out of his peripheral vision, he saw Tyler smile softly. Josh could have died right there, almost happy. Almost, because Jenna was there. Not that he didn't like Jenna. He just didn't want her there at this moment. Josh looked back up.

 

"You know what, I'm gonna go grab some beer and we can drink a little. I think I need to loosen up a bit," Josh said, getting up and going to the kitchen to get the beer. When he came back, he noticed that Tyler and Jenna were sitting considerably closer to one another. He grit his teeth and gave a beer to Tyler and (reluctantly) Jenna, whilst grabbing one for himself. He popped the cap open and downed a quarter of it in one gulp. Tyler sipped off of his as well, and Jenna didn't even touch hers. Strange. She'd always struck Josh as the drinking type. 

~~~

They'd all had lots of beer, and they were kind of drunk. Josh excused himself to go get some water, and when he came back, Jenna and Tyler were sloppily making out. Josh scowled, clenching his fists. He knew he shouldn't feel this way, shouldn't feel possessive, but he couldn't really help it. There was a dragon in his chest, and it was rearing its head, snapping its jaws. Josh shook his head slightly and glanced at the clock. It was getting sort of late - 6:00 PM. Josh looked back at Jenna and Tyler, who were still at it. Josh frowned a little, trying to keep his discomfort under wraps. He cleared his throat, and J&T looked up, dazed.

 

"It's getting late. I think you guys should probably go," Josh said. Usually, he'd be nicer, but they were drunk and probably wouldn't remember everything he said, anyway. It took a minute for his words to register, but when they did, Tyler nodded, pulling Jenna up with him.

 

"Okay. Thanks for letting us come by," Tyler said as he passed Josh, walking towards the door. 

 

"Thanks for coming by," Josh said, trying to sound as genuine as possible. Why had Jenna even needed to come? Couldn't she have just stayed at home? He knew Tyler was trying to help, but really, he'd just made Josh feel worse. 

 

Josh threw a pillow as he heard the front door close and a car peel out of the driveway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so im gonna be honest with yall i write these notes things at the beginning of the chapter so its before i know whats gonna happen in the chapter bc im literally winging it for every one. so i usually have to go back and add stuff lol. also its my last day of freedom before school starts and im NOt Happy :))

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY THIS FUCKIGN SUCKED BUT I DONT'???? EVEN CARE IDK WHERE 2 GO WITH THIS BUT IM WRITING THIS FOR MALENA........PLS ENJOY PAL


End file.
